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Hamilton accuses Bell of dishonesty
A bitter Neil Hamilton has accused Martin Bell, who vanquished him in Tatton, of running a dishonest and corrupt campaign.
The defeated Tory said that Mr Bell, who while nominally independent stood on an anti-corruption ticket, "conducted a campaign of character assassination against me". Mr Hamilton, who is at the heart of the Commons cash-for-questions affair, accused his opponent of making "false allegations against me on a regular basis".
Mr Hamilton said that without these falsehoods, he would have retained his seat. "I blame him for my defeat," he said, adding that he was "devastated" by what had happened.
Mr Bell, however, was having none of his opponent's accusations. The former BBC correspondent said he had conducted the campaign "honourably" - the people of Tatton had given their verdict and he now wished to get on with the business of serving them without further distraction.
He added that he had been surprised by the size of his 11,00 majority: "I thought it would be wafer-thin. It was a political miracle, I treally can't account for it. There was a depth of feeling against Mr Hamilton right across the constituency. It was strongest amongst Conservatives."
Mr Bell turned his attention to the future, saying that he had to justify the electorate's faith. Once in the Commons, he said that he would focus on the issue over which he was elected: "standards and practices and increasing the trust of the public in their elected representatives".
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